Forever Shinobi
by Jazzmaster Saddler
Summary: AU! After the 3rd great ninja war shinobi were banned and exiled. but now a great eveil has risen and the people cry for them....will they come? OC please r&r NEW CHAPTER!
1. Two Heroes

"Untitled"

Forever Shinobi

Prologue

Shinobi…

That word used to mean something. It stood for so much. It would raise up the hopes of people, and strike fear into the enemies' hearts. The great shinobi of years past have been forgotten to most. After the Third Great Ninja War shinobi were looked down upon. Those people, who once were the most respected of all, were shunned. Many years went by without them, many peaceful years. But anyone who still has faith in the shinobi ways will tell you….

Peace can't last forever. The time will come when shinobi are needed again. There will be a time when the free people will be forced to kneel to great evil. And they will be begging for the shinobi, begging to be saved. And then we will see… will they help?

Chapter 1

Two adolescents walked side by side don't the bustling main street of the Market Square. One had long brown hair which was up in a pony tail, the other with short black hair that spiked at the top of his head. The one with the pony tail had firm facial features, clearly the older of the two. He donned a black long sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up, along with his matching black pants that stop just under the knee to reveal leg wrappings. These were common around this part of the Land of Fire. His counterpart sported a dark green t shirt with arm wrappings down to his knuckles underneath. On his lower section were black pants much similar to his friends but with no leg wrappings, his went down to meet his shoes.

Before the young men could reach the end of the strip they heard a commotion to the right of them, at a small Sake bar. The younger one whirled his head towards the noise while the elder just stopped and listened, staring straight ahead. All that could be heard was yelling.

"Maybe we should check it out." The younger one said

The older one sighed.

"Jioshi, we can't always be running into other people's business."

"I understand that… but this looks bad."

Just as Jioshi had said that the commotion grew. Now it had the attention of others surrounding the area.

The older one letting out another sigh as he said,

"Fine… go take care of it."

Jioshi nodded and started towards the commotion. The older one turned to watch and showed a little smirk. When Jioshi arrived at the point of all the noise everything ceased. All heads turned towards him. Maybe it was because he had nothing to do with the altercation, or maybe it was the fact that instead of trying to stop the yelling by yelling himself he grabbed a pot from the nearby stand and smashed against the bar.

"Who the hell are you?" one of the drunken men said.

"Yeah what do you want? Mind you own business!" another shouted.

Jioshi chuckled and walked a little closer towards the men.

"What is going on here?" Jioshi asked calmly.

"Money is missing from my drawer! These men said they saw this guy take it!" The bartender said pointing to a man who was the only one seated.

The seated man staring right at Jioshi said"Yeah I took it. Here take it back; I don't want to hear you whine anymore."

The man rose, approached the bar, and handed the ryo back to the bartender. On his way out he bumped into Jioshi with his shoulder.

_What an asshole,_ Jioshi thought.

"Hey, that guy left without paying for his drinks!" the bartender muttered

"Oh, well here I'll take care of it," Jioshi said while reaching for his belt satchel, "I wouldn't want you to lose mo…" Jioshi stopped himself and looked down at his belt.

_It's gone! That son of a bitch took it! _Jioshi thought as he darted off in the direction the man went.

Jioshi could easily see the man's footprints in the loose dirt. So following him was not that hard. After some time the footprints came to an end.

_What!? These tracks stop dead right here! There is no way he could just disappear!_

Just then Jioshi felt a slight prick at his neck, followed by the sensation of blood trickling down his neck. He knew right away that he had been duped. He had fallen right into a trap. One minute he was following this damned thief and now he has a kunai at his throat.

"Look, all I want is my money back." Jioshi said trying to reason

"Shut up! You're not in any position to be negotiating!" Then man said pressing slightly harder with his blade.

"Fine keep the money… just let me go"

"Nah I think I'll just kill you and see what else you have to offer!"

Jioshi readied himself for pain, but felt none. He heard the clang of metal and saw the kunai on the ground. Jioshi whipped around to find the man who almost killed him being held of the ground by the throat. The thief tried to beg for mercy but his words only came out as gurgles. Jioshi looked at the man holding the thief. It was his friend, the older boy.

Jioshi let out a sigh of relief.

"Tairoki…how did you know where to go?" Jioshi asked

"I just followed the tracks…" Tairoki said dropping the man and walking past Jioshi

_Why is he always such a smart-ass? _Jioshi pondered.

Jioshi grabbed his satchel and ran after Tairoki. They both headed south towards the ocean.

Tairoki Shibuni of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, and Jioshi of the Yoshiro Clan, Two nomads, two Shinobi….

Two heroes.


	2. Too Much Kindness

Chapter 2

Hey, If your on chapter 2 then you read chapter one! And that means you like it enough to move on in my story XD thanx! –Honorable Grandson

Chapter 2

Still trying to regain breath he picked up his kunai and rose up from the dirt. His throat throbbed in pain. The thought of defeat angered him. What made him even more enraged is the fact that he didn't even see it coming.

_It seems I underestimated his power. Well Done Tairoki._

"HEY! We finally caught up to you!" shouted an angry voice.

The thief looked to his left and saw 3 men. He recognized them from the Sake bar.

"Don't trouble me right now." The thief said impatiently.

"You owe us money! And we are going to take a little more than that!" one said

"I call dibs on that fancy jacket of his!" another yelled pulling out a kunai.

Just as the man took a step towards the thief, the thief turned towards him and started to laugh.

Stopping in his tracks, "What's so damn funny?" he asked.

"You." The thief replied calmly

"WHY YOU ARROGANT LITTLE SHIT!!" the man yelled racing towards the thief.

In one quick movement he moved his arm in a blur hurling his kunai right for the man.

The kunai found rest inside the man's left eye, causing him to fall to the ground still in motion. When the man's body was done tumbling the thief looked at the others.

"Well… come on."

Hesitant at first, the other men shook off what they just saw and started towards the thief. The thief, letting out a little chuckle, proceeded to walk towards them. Eyes on the thief the men increased their speed. Then in the blink of an eye the thief was gone.

"What the…!?"

"Where the hell did…" the man's words were cut short and replaced with a gurgling sound.

Looking over to see why his companion stopped so suddenly the other man realized that they were in over their heads. Because in his friend's throat were two shuriken. Blood flowed quickly through the wounds.

"Oh my god!!" the man yelped catching his friend as he fell to the ground

Kneeling with his dying friend in his lap the man finally realized that his fate would be the same as his partner's. Before he had a chance to retrieve a kunai from his side pouch the air seemed to race out of his lungs, and a force threw him backwards.

The thief's kick landed square in the man's chest. The thief's efforts were rewarded with the sound of bones snapping.

"I told you not to trouble me." The mysterious thief said

The man tried to reach for a kunai but found he could move his arms.

"It's no use. That kick not only broke your sternum but the force surely damaged your spine as well." The thief stated with an eerie sense of kindness.

Barely being able you speak the man managed to eek out, "Who…. Who are you?"

After the words left his mouth another kick was dealt to the side of his head, toppling him over on his side. Lying defenseless on his side, head on the ground, he begin to sob. But his whimpers were cut short when he felt something new, another form of pain, immense pressure on his head. His vision, still blurred form the blow to the head, eventually corrected and he realized that the thief had one foot on his head.

"Well normally I don't give that sort of information out, but I feel close to you."

Letting out a good laugh before he continued, the thief applied more pressure to the man's head.

"Mirashi… Mirashi Shibuni." He said just before stomping down full force on the man's head. A grotesque crushing sound followed.

"Ha…. Like an egg." He said walking away from the mess he made, out of the alley, and in the direction the other two went.

"I'm coming brother…" he said to himself as he parted.

"Look…I didn't need your help back there! I could have handled it!" Jioshi muttered

"Yeah well….I didn't feel like wasting more time. We have a task to complete and no one is going to slow me down." Tairoki replied glancing over to meet his friend's eyes.

"I hate when you look at me like that, like I did something wrong!"

"You did nothing wrong Jio I just sometimes wonder if when the time comes you will do what we have to do." Tairoki said with doubt in his tone.

Jioshi didn't know what to say so he just let out a sigh and continued walking down the overgrown path.

A cold breeze whisked through the trees rustling the leaves and creating a soothing sound. This sound brought Jioshi back to his homeland. It brought him back to the spot where he met her and the spot where he lost her. A sudden weight was put on Jioshi's shoulders. His steps became heavier, his strides shorter, and his breathing became quick and shallow.

"Jio," Tairoki started "It won't bring her back. It's best to let the memories die."

This statement startled Jioshi. Was it really that obvious he was reminiscing? Trying to swallow his emotion Jioshi said,

"What are you talking about?

Sighing, Tairoki halted and looked at Jioshi with a new type of look. One Jioshi had not seen in a long time.

"Listen to me. She is dead. You will have to accept that. If these precious memories of yours hinder your abilities or make you question our goal….I will not hesitate to kill you…..Just as I did her."

Jioshi's heart sunk into the pit of his stomach. How could Tairoki say such things? Jioshi knew his purpose, their purpose. He would never betray Tairoki…..would he?

Completely speechless Jioshi turned away from his comrade and continued down the path.

_Hmm, it would be a shame for me to kill him. But he has kindness in his heart. We can't afford kindness._ Tairoki thought to himself as he followed Jioshi down the path. Maybe it was the wind playing tricks on him or he was just losing it, but Tairoki thought it sounded as if Jioshi was chuckling to himself.

_Maybe he is crazier than I thought…_

After traveling some distance in the dark the two shinobi came upon a small cabin in the middle of the woods.

"We need a place to stay, its getting late. By tomorrow the heat will be off us and then we can go to see the Hokage." Tairoki stated.

"Well ill go ask if we can stay here…." Jioshi's voiced trailed off as he approached the cabin.

_He has that look in his eye…He better not make a mess._ Tairoki thought as he gazed up at the moon.

_Mirashi…what the hell was he doing there? Jio can't know about him. It will ruin everything. All I have worked for! Nothing will get in the way of my goal…NOTHING!_


	3. The Wood Pile

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**5 minutes earlier…..**

"Darling come on inside, it's getting dark!" an old woman called out from the back door of her small cabin.

"Yes dear." A voice called out from behind a pile of stacked wood.

That voice belonged to Kushiro Nutako. He was 70 years old and he looked like he was 80. The years had really taken their toll on him. He hunched over a little and had a slight limp in his right leg. Kushiro had led a very good life, a very peaceful life.

He had met Acura when he was 35 years old….after the murder of his first wife.

He slowly made his way up his back stair and into his cabin.

"Well, we should have enough wood for the winter now." Kushiro said in his grainy, meek voice.

"You work yourself too hard dear, you keep this up and you won't make it till winter." Acura said with playfulness in her old, sweet voice.

"I told you already…I wont leave you." He replied with full sincerity

Acura looked at him as if they had just fallen in love.

"I love you Kushiro."

"I know dear."

Acura waited a moment longer hoping to hear the words she wanted to hear. After a moment of nothing she turned and walked towards the kitchen. She knew Kushiro loved her but he never said it. He was a great man. Always provided for her, always protected her best interest, and never denied her anything she wanted. But all she really wanted was to hear those three words.

Right when she was about to start cleaning dishes there was a knock at the door.

"Kushiro…can you get the door please." She said loudly

"No problem dear." He said walking towards the door.

Now Kushiro was a smart man. He had a very keen sense of when something was not right. And right now…something wasn't right.

"Acura….." he said in a tone unlike usual.

Acknowledging the tone she approached him.

"Yes dear….?"

"…..I love you." He said looking at her like he never had before.

Tears in her eyes she simply said, "I know dear…."

Kushiro opened the door to reveal a Teenage boy. The boy's eyes burned through Kushiro.

Stepping up so he was looming over the old man the boy said,

"Hi…I need a place to stay…."

**The Next Morning…**

Tracking was relatively easy for Mirashi. It was a skill his family was very proficient in. So naturally following the track of the other two was not that tricky. Plus the fact the Tairoki wanted Mirashi to find him helped out a bit too.

Tairoki… Mirashi knew that out of him and his brother Tairoki was superior in every aspect.

"Brother… where are you going?" Mirashi said to himself as he traced the ground for the next set of tracks.

Finding his mark he again proceeded to follow his brother.

"What do we have here?" Mirashi said looking at an old cabin.

Looking at the ground Mirashi noticed the tracks let directly to the cabin. Following the tracks he quickly scanned the area…. no one around. Maybe there would be something to work off of in the cabin.

What Mirashi saw next took him by surprise.

When he walked in the front door he looked around but saw no one. When he took a step inside something squished beneath his foot. Looking down he realized the noise belonged to a finger.

"Hmmm… Tairoki was surely here." He said following a large puddle of blood that dragged all the way to the back door. Mirashi followed it. When he reached the backyard all he saw was a large pile of stacked wood.

When he was about to turn around and go back in he heard and buzzing noise. He followed the noise to its origin behind the wood pile.

"Just like the last town." Mirashi said gazing upon two corpses one on top of the other.

Mirashi noticed something different about these corpses. They were killed quickly. The man had his throat slit and the woman's neck was broken. Tairoki like to torture his victims, he was twisted like that. This must have been the work of the other one. There were quite a bit of flies around and the smell was horrific. The mid morning sun had really warmed up the corpses. Finally averting his eyes Mirashi went back inside and right by the front door on the wall to the right was an arrow carved into the wood. The arrow pointed east.

"Well Tairoki…..east it is." Mirashi said walking out the door closing it behind him.

"_I love you dear..."_

"_I Know…"_


End file.
